After I finished climbing the mountain that is NaNo, right after I hit the top, I turned around and looked at the path I took. The places I fell, where I rested, where I nearly ran up its side. I think reflection is important. How else will we recognise and celebrate how far we've come, the obstacles we've overcome?

So today to reflect on my wild experience with National Novel Writing Month this November, here are five things I learned about myself and my writing process. 1) I Work Well With Deadlines

Having a daily as well as a monthly goal pushed me to go further than I have in a long time. The visual aid of stats made me itch to push the bar up, and make sure it always stayed above the minimum needed. My aim was always to finish a few days earlier, and I did! This is the first time I've finished early for NaNoWriMo, so I hope to be able to keep up the pattern next year.

2) Words Wars are Great

In my first few days, when I was able to war all afternoon, I pumped out a huge amount of words for me. Word wars kept me from becoming distracted, instead focusing my mind on the story and my keyboard, nothing else. Encouraging competition can be helpful! 3) Prioritise, Prioritise, Prioritise (Yes, I spelled that right, I promise)

Some days I felt as if the weight of studying, homework, research for school, life, blogging, and writing, would crush me. But I took a deep breath, and prioritised. If I was already ahead that day with writing, I let myself focus more on another area. Or if I had a more flexible schedule, I tried to write as much as I could.

If I hadn't, I probably would have drowned in stress. So yay for NaNo for helping me sharpen my prioritising skills!

4) I Love More than Two POVs

I had plans to only have two POVs in my novel, but my characters and my brain had other ideas for me. A couple chapters in, a new character demanded the spotlight. Then another. And now like in almost all of the stories I'm serious about writing, there are four POVs.

There is something about a complex plot and showing different sides of a narrative that draws me in. As for why four? Perhaps it's my magic number. 5) Outlining Can Be Helpful

I wrote the heading with a slight wince, because I am a declared pantser (most of the time). But I actually, by some strange turn of events, plotted out my beginning scenes. I flew through them. It helped me knock out the first couple thousand words, and get ahead of my wordcount goal, something that helped me out on busier days.

BUT I've also found out a lot of character secrets and plot twists by not plotting out of the middle, even though being clueless of what will happen next has slowed me down. I suspect I'll be doing a mix of plotting and pantsing from now on.

What did you learn this month, either from NaNo, or from life and writing in general? Do you plot? Do you enjoy word wars or do you steer clear?
Good luck with your writing, and have a great day! <3
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